No Hint of Terrorism In Shuttle Tragedy

CBS News ^ | February 1, 2003

[HAL9000]

(CBS) The Bush administration said Saturday there was no indication that terrorism was behind the loss of the space shuttle Columbia on Saturday.

"There is no information at this time that this was a terrorist incident," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the Homeland Security Department. "Obviously the investigation is just beginning, but that is the information we have now."

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no threat had been made against the flight, and the shuttle, at an altitude of about 203,000 feet over north-central Texas when it lost contact, was out of range of surface-to-air missiles.

FBI spokeswoman Angela Bell also said there was no indication of terrorism. She said the FBI would have a tangential role in the investigation, mainly assisting in evidence recovery.

Separately, a Nasa official said there was no evidence of sabotage.

"At this time we have no indication that the mishap was caused by anything or anyone on the ground," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said.

Another senior law enforcement official said there had been some intelligence that raised concerns about a previously scheduled flight of Columbia, which was to have carried the same crew.

The intelligence, related to Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, was termed not credible, but the flight was postponed for other reasons. There had been no troubling intelligence regarding this flight, officials said, and they do not believe terrorism was involved.

CBS News Correspondent Howard Arenstein interviewed an Israeli intelligence expert, Alon Ben-Meir, who is a professor of terrorism and ethnic conflict at New York University.

Ben-Meir said his sources in Israeli intelligence had also come to the conclusion that it would have been virtually impossible for terrorists to have attacked the shuttle.

"They feel that because of the way it happened, the altitude, and the speed that there is no possibility that any kind of missile could have caused something like this," Ben-Mier said.

©MMIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[Churchillspirit]

Tasteless - very tasteless.

[Elenya]

If it was sabotage, maybe it was done to occur on landing because you've got temps and stresses that would make it easier to do.

Don't you think the crew would've had plenty of time to notice any sabotage attempt?

[mewzilla]

Short answer, no.

[Elenya]

How long were they up there? 2 weeks?

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Agreed. The software could have been tampered with, and considering that compromise that gave the Chinese access to our launch codes, anything is possible.

I think that probably it was mechanical failure, but the effort but forward to RULE OUT terrorists make it seem suspious, none the less.

[Jennifer in Florida]

I think we should start bombing Iraq, just in case...

I agree that this would help the collective mood today.

[Cicero]

It's a bit insulting to the intelligence and courage of Americans that they have to keep running this sort of meaningless guff to "reassure" people.

Obviously the shuttle wasn't shot down. And the odds are probably 100-1 or better that it wasn't sabotaged, either. But the latter can't be ruled out until a full investigation has been made. If we have spies in our most secret nuclear facilities, it's not beyond possibility that we have sleeper agents or malevolent persons connected with the shuttle program.

[ramdalesh]

There is a lot of debris in space. Leftover junk from satellites, screws, bolts, chunks of metal etc. all travelling incredibly fast. Something like 50,000 kilometers per hour. The kinetic energy of colliding with a 2 centimeter ball bearing that is in orbit around the Earth is the same as colliding with a 1 ton automobile at 60 miles per hour. This is perhaps the biggest hazard in space. A fleck of paint from an old rocket could kill an astronaut. NASA uses a telescope designed to locate and chart projectiles in space, and it is possible to anticipate where their coming from based on these charts, and past history of where rockets and satellites are located. It is a rather large surface area, significantly bigger than the earth's surface, but still we don't know much about collisions which spread this debris all over the orbital surface. Defense against space debris is based in Norad,(the underground military base in Colorado), who alerts the shuttle crews when they are near a danger zone.
NASA takes special precautions to shield the astronauts, and essential spaceship components from projectiles and debris. An astronaut in a space walk is as vulnerable as a soldier on a battlefield. And what's more, A small projectile could destroy sattelight, rocket, or space shuttle.
By changing the flight attitude while in orbit it is possible to minimize potential damage from a collision, and to protect an astronaut who is working outside. The odds of collision are pretty low, but the destructive power can be devastating.
It is possible that the shuttle collided with space debris upon re-entry. The combination of heat, and increased velocity of the shuttle, and a collision with a screw or a large bolt travelling at 50,000 km/hr would probably be enough to cause the explosion.

[HAL9000]

A thought concerning Boeing...

[Jennifer in Florida]

Columbia's 28th trip into space begins at 10:39 a.m. EST on Jan. 16 blasting off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

[drron]

S. Launches Second Scud for Anti-Missile Research

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, California (AP) -- The U.S. military launched a Scud missile Monday to obtain data for use in developing missile defense systems.

The missile lifted off from a mobile launcher, reached an altitude of 281,000 feet (84,300 meters) and traveled 186 miles (300 kilometers) before it fell into the Pacific Ocean, Missile Defense Agency spokesman Chris Taylor said. The test was conducted to obtain flight data, and did not involve an intercept attempt, he said.

It was the military's second launch this month of a Scud, a ballistic missile that was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and is now in the arsenals of at least 25 nations, including Iraq.

The launch was part of a $13 million program to help develop an advanced version of the Patriot anti-missile system and other defense technologies, officials said.

The Patriot was put to the test during the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq fired about 90 Scuds. Forty-three landed in Saudi Arabia and 39 in Israel. One hit a U.S. barracks in Saudi Arabia, killing 28 soldiers. A congressional report found that Patriots downed only four Scuds.

The Scud is difficult to hit because it wobbles wildly in flight.

A Call for Planetary Defense

The final report of the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, released last week, calls for the Department of Defense (DoD) to take on the role of planetary defense.

The Commission noted that the U.S. Air Force is looking into use of satellites for detecting and tracking human-made satellites in Earth orbit. That effort should be broadened, the study group advised, to include detection of asteroids.

Given Air Force study and other military space reviews underway, "planetary defense should be assigned to the DoD in cooperation with NASA," the report states.

"The day will arrive when an asteroid is discovered on a collision course with Earth. The more we know about their orbit and structure, the more effective we can be in attempting to deflect it from harm's way," the Commission report concludes.

-- L

[Jennifer in Florida]

The missile lifted off from a mobile launcher, reached an altitude of 281,000 feet (84,300 meters) and traveled 186 miles

Where did you get this from? Everything I've read about the Vandenberg Scud tests show that the altitude reached about 150,000 feet, not any more than this. When was this test conducted?
I found this story: Scud Tests

[katherineisgreat]

Lord that's scary.